List of sovereign states
Lists of nations|non-sovereign dependencies|Dependent territory}} This is a list of sovereign states, giving an overview of states around the world with information on the status and recognition of their sovereignty. The list is divided into two parts. It is arranged alphabetically, and contains 203 entries, as of 2010: # The internationally recognized sovereign states section lists all 193 widely recognised sovereign states, including all member states of the United Nations, plus Vatican City. # The other states section lists ten states which have de facto sovereignty or independence, but are not widely recognised diplomatically by other states. Compiling a list such as this can be a difficult and controversial process, as there is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations concerning the criteria for statehood. For more information on the criteria used to determine the contents of this list, please see the "criteria for inclusion" section below. Internationally recognized sovereign states Other states This annex lists states that claim sovereignty and have control over (part of or all of) their claimed territories, but due to disputes over their legitimacy, do not have normal diplomatic relations with the majority of sovereign states. None of the states in this annex list are UN member states.The non-state sovereign entity Order of Malta is not included. It claims neither statehood nor any territory. Entities considered to be micronations are not included. It is often up to debate whether a micronation truly controls its claimed territory. Also omitted from this list are all uncontacted peoples, who either live in societies that cannot be defined as states or whose statuses as such are currently too data deficient to be definitively known. Criteria for inclusion This list derives its definition of a state from Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention of 1933. According to the Convention, a state should possess the following qualifications: *(a) a permanent population *(b) a defined territory *© government *(d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states. In respect of the last qualification, the role of recognition by other states can often be crucial since it implies acceptance into the international community."State", pp. 512–3 in Penguin Dictionary of International Relations. Evans, Graham & Newnham, Jeffrey. 1998. (ISBN 0-14-051397-3). London: Penguin Books Ltd. The list includes all states which are often regarded as satisfying these criteria and claim to be sovereign and independent. However, in many cases, whether an entity satisfies the Montevideo Convention criteria is disputed. It is also important to note that there is a divergence of opinion in international law on whether the Montevideo Convention criteria alone are sufficient qualities of statehood. Links to different theories on this question are provided below. On the basis of the above criteria, this list includes the following 203 entities: *193 sovereign states with general international recognition: **192 member states of the United Nations **One state with general international recognition, governed by the Holy See (a United Nations permanent observer in the category "Non-member states"): Vatican City *10 sovereign states lacking general international recognition, none of which are members of the United Nations: **One state with diplomatic relations with more than 100 states and informal relations with 25 others, governed by the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (a United Nations permanent observer): Palestine **One state, recognized by 81 UN member states, member of the African Union, in partial control of the Western Sahara (listed by the United Nations as a non self-governing territory): the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic **One state, and by the ROC, informal relations with six others: Kosovo **One state, competing for recognition with another state, currently as the state representing China, but no longer recognised by the United Nations as of 25 October 1971: the Republic of China (ROC; Taiwan) **Two states, recognized by four United Nations member states, by Transnistria and by each other: Abkhazia and South Ossetia **One state, recognized by one United Nations member state and having informal relations with 19 more: Northern Cyprus **One state, recognized by Abkhazia and South Ossetia: Transnistria **One state recognized by Transnistria: Nagorno-Karabakh **One state not recognized by any other state: Somaliland See also *Constitutive theory of statehood *Declarative theory of statehood *Gallery of sovereign-state flags *List of governments-in-exile *List of international rankings *List of micronations *List of statistically superlative countries *List of territorial disputes *Lists of sovereign states by year *Terra nullius *List of autonomous areas by country *Table of administrative divisions by country *Federation *Federated state *Associated state Notes References * * * * * * * * * * * τ *Sovereign states Sovereign states